AFRICA: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members gathered outside their Cairo headquarters in anticipation of an opposition march on the building.

AMERICAS: Venezuelan student protesters, who were marching to protest the electoral commission and the government, clashed with supporters of the late President Chavez.

ASIA: A member of the Afghan government-backed militia shot and killed five of his colleagues.

EUROPE: Italian President Napolitano said he will hand out a mandate for the formation of a new government.

MIDDLE EAST: More than 150 Jordanians took part in a sit-in near the US embassy in Amman in protest of the upcoming visit by US President Obama.

TECHNOLOGY: The US government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country’s private, civilian-run infrastructure.

TOP STORY

Syria: Tensions rise in wake of mosque bombing; US said no chemical weapons have been used; UN to open chemical weapon investigation.

A large explosion killed at least 42 people inside a central Damascus mosque, including the top Sunni cleric in the country.

President Assad vowed to rid the country of Muslim extremists whom he blamed for the suicide bombing.

A senior US official said the US now has strong indications that chemical weapons were not used in a Tuesday attack.

Mouaz al-Khatib, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces called on Russia and the US not to intervene in Syria.

UNSG Ban Ki-moon said the UN will investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Italy: President Napolitano said he will hand out a mandate for the formation of a new government. (AFP)

Turkey: The US welcomed a call from the jailed rebel leader of the PKK urging his fighters to lay down their arms, saying it was a “positive step.” (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

Iraq: The UNSG’s special representative for Iraq said the Iraqis face a complex set of interrelated problems including a spillover of violence from Syria. (Xinhua)

Israel: A hard-line Islamist group claimed a rocket attack against southern Israel. (AFP)

Jordan: More than 150 Jordanians took part in a sit-in near the US embassy in Amman in protest of the upcoming visit by President Obama. (Xinhua)

Lebanon: One man was killed and five others wounded in two separate exchanges of fire in the northern of Tripoli, a security source said. (AFP)

Yemen: Three members of pro-government militia were killed in an ambush by al Qaeda militants in Abyan. (Xinhua)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Cybersecurity: The US government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country’s private, civilian-run infrastructure. (Reuters)

WORLD

Cyclones: Nothing to report.

Hurricanes: Nothing to report.

Earthquakes: Nothing to report.

Volcanoes: Nothing to report.

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (23MAR)

Global: World Meteorological Day.

Pakistan: Republic Day celebrated, which commemorates the Lahore Resolution of 1940 and the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, making Pakistan the world’s first Islamic republic.